John Prentis and Helen Prentis v. Yale

This products liability action arose out of injuries sustained in an accident involving the operation of a hand-operated forklift manufactured by defendant. The procedural events leading up to this appeal include two trials and two reversals and remands for new trials by the Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs John Prentis and his wife, Helen, brought suit alleging both negligence and breach of implied warranty, predicating defendant manufacturers liability upon the alleged defective design of the forklift. Although the trial Judge included both negligence and breach of warranty in his statement of plaintiffs theory of the case to the jury, he refused to give plaintiffs requested instructions on breach of implied warranty. A judgment for the defendant, upon a jury verdict of no cause of action, was reversed by the Court of Appeals, which held that the trial courts failure to charge the jury as requested was reversible error, mandating a new trial. Prentis v Yale Mfg Co, 116 Mich App 466; 323 NW2d 444 (1982).